Den of Geek have reviewed the first story of The Sarah Jane Adventures series 5, giving a rather positive review on the episode which premieres October 3rd.

Hewing closely to the shows traditionally bold storytelling template, Ford’s opening story – which seemingly riffs on influences as diverse as V, Three Men And A Baby and The Terminator – is one of the strongest opening adventures so far.

However, despite the familiarity of certain tropes, there’s a feeling that things are changing on Bannerman Road. With her son Luke (Tommy Knight) still away at university and with erstwhile sidekicks Clyde (Daniel Anthony) and Rani (Anjli Mohindra) growing up fast, are Sarah Jane’s gang perhaps are becoming somewhat…well, long in the tooth?

Set against the backdrop of an explosive outer space war spilling over onto modern-day Earth, this opening story is really about how to successfully transfuse new blood into an ongoing series’ with maximum impact and minimum disruption.

In terms of effects the real star of the show is the alien Metalkind creature. Easily on a par with the best creatures the Whoniverse has produced, the Metalkind is a superb prosthetic creation and another genuinely impressive adding to the burgeoning SJA stable.

A strong, confident and impressive opener, the only downside to the return of The Sarah Jane Adventures is that in two stories' time the show will be gone forever. However, going by the quality of Sky, it’s fair to assume that this is a show bowing out at the absolute top of its game.

“Sky” part one airs Monday October 3rd on CBBC, concluding on the Tuesday.